re: Collaboration to save the West's forests

One of the main reasons that so much of the USFS lands need attention is because they stopped harvesting in the early 1990s. They primarily stopped due to the spotted owl; being an endangered species.

Harvesting is a management tool. Stop harvesting means more fuel for fires.
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And if you broke out this chart by region, the West Region's lines would probably be near 0 on the x axis.

And, in case you are unaware, the feds/states own most of the forest land in the west. Private owners own most in the east.

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But most of the harvesting is done by private owners.

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And most of the tree planting takes place in the south.
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